Team USA figure skating qualifies for Winter Olympics

BOSTON – Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov found out Team USA qualified for two pairs spots in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games while talking to the press following their free skate program at the World Figure Skating Championships on Thursday.

As Team USA teammates Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea found out their scores – slotting into a spot high enough to qualify, just beneath Efimova and Mitrofanov’s scores – the US will have a chance to have a full team of pairs.

Alongside the automatic two pairs for the Olympics, Team USA will also send a pair to Beijing for the qualifying competition in September for a possible third pair.

“Super proud of Team USA and to be a part of that with Alisa and Misha,” O’Shea said. “As part of Team USA, we’re here to earn spots for our country. They’re not for us. … It’s for the country. And Misha, Alisa and Ellie and I did our job as far as accomplishing that. Earning three spots for next year’s Worlds and the chance for three spots for the Olympics.”

For Kam and O’Shea, being able to give another team the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics is a full-circle moment.

“To be able to give another team the opportunity is huge for us. We were one of the teams that got a chance to go to Worlds our first season because other teams have worked hard and got those three spots,” Kam said. “So I’m really happy that we have the chance for US pairs to keep growing, and it’s something to be really proud of.”

O’Shea sustained a foot injury off the ice on Saturday, but he was cleared to compete earlier this week. In the pairs’ free skate, O’Shea and Kam scored a 126.77 and came in seventh overall.

“It was honestly not a perfect performance out there this week, but I think we’re very proud of the work that we did to accomplish what we did this week,” O’Shea said. “I think the mental toughness, along with the physical toughness of getting through this week is something that we’ll use next season as the pressure and the intensity comes for an Olympic season.”

USA-favorite Ilia Malinin sets personal best in short program

Ilia Malinin did not perform his signature quadruple Axel – the 20 year old is a self-proclaimed Quad God – in the men’s short program, but he didn’t need it. With an 110.41 point performance, Malinin became the third man to score over 110 points in a short program, under the current ISU Judging System that has been used since 2018.

The Virginia native skated a personal best – by over three points – on Thursday in front of the TD Garden home crowd and was met to a standing ovation at the conclusion of his program.

“I felt really nervous, more than usual before, but when the music came on I just went into a flow state, and it just went from there,” Malinin said later. “This is one of my favorite programs of all time. It was very exciting to be skating here in Boston. I hadn’t even finished my program, and the crowd was standing, and I was really happy about that.”

Japan takes back its World pairs title

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara thought they hadn’t done enough to regain the World title they won in 2023 after their free skate program.

They needed 142.52 to advance to the first overall spot after taking the lead after the short program on Wednesday to win the gold. And with 143.22 points, Miura and Kihara secured their second world championship by seven tenths of a point.

Top 10 pairs program finishers: